The iconic Torre de Belém is so-called because it is a tower (torre) standing in the parish of Santa Maria de Belém, on the banks of the Tagus River (Rio Tejo) in Lisbon.

The tower was commissioned by King John II (D. Joao II) in the late 1500s to add stronger defenses to the river entrance. The river has a wide delta, so the tower was built on a stretch of land away from shore.

Although the king commissioned the tower, he died before construction began, so the project was overseen by King Manuel I, who named military architect Francisco de Arruda “Master of the works of the Belém stronghold”. The initial construction was completed in 1519, two years before the death of Manuel I.

A few decades on, various plans were discussed to fortify the tower further. At one point a plan was mooted to extend the fortification considerably, but this never materialised.

The tower was useful in 1831 during the Battle of Tagus, when the French naval fleet attacked fortifications around the Tagus in a bid to force Portugal to recognise the newly formed Kingdom of the French.